ave often
heard of this passage, which was once built by a Magician who was a
great traveler. He thought it would save him the bother of going around
the earth's surface, but he tumbled through the Tube so fast that he
shot out at the other end and hit a star in the sky, which at once
exploded."

"The star exploded?" asked Betsy wonderingly.

"Yes; the Magician hit it so hard."

"And what became of the Magician?" inquired the girl.

"No one knows that," answered Polychrome. "But I don't think it matters
much."

"It matters a good deal, if we also hit the stars when we come out,"
said Queen Ann, with a moan.

"Don't worry," advised Polychrome. "I believe the Magician was going
the other way, and probably he went much faster than we are going."

"It's fast enough to suit me," remarked Shaggy, gently removing
Polychrome's heel from his left eye. "Couldn't you manage to fall all
by yourself, my dear?"

"I'll try," laughed the Rainbow's Daughter.

All this time they were swiftly falling through the Tube, and it was
not so easy for them to talk as you may imagine when you read their
words. But although they were so helpless and altogether in the dark as
to their fate, the fact that they were able to converse at all cheered
them, considerably.

Files and Ozga were also conversing as they clung tightly to one
another, and the young fellow bravely strove to reassure the Princess,
although he was terribly frightened, both on her account and on his own.

An hour, under such trying circumstances, is a very long time, and for
more than an hour they continued their fearful journey. Then, just as
they began to fear the Tube would never end, Tik-Tok popped out into
broad daylight and, after making a graceful circle in the air, fell
with a splash into a great marble fountain.

Out came the officers, in quick succession, tumbling heels over head
and striking the ground in many undignified attitudes.

"For the love of sassafras!" exclaimed a Peculiar Person who was hoeing
pink violets in a garden. "What can all this mean?"

For answer, Queen Ann sailed up from the Tube, took a ride through the
air as high as the treetops, and alighted squarely on top of the
Peculiar Person's head, smashing a jeweled crown over his eyes and
tumbling him to the ground.

The mule was heavier and had Betsy clinging to his back, so he did not
go so high up. Fortunately for his little rider he struck the ground
upon his four feet. Betsy was